JP7068894B2 - Smell release system, scent releaser, scent release method, and program - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an odor emitting system, an odor emitting machine, an odor emitting method, and a program.

Conventionally, a technique for detecting the presence of a user and distributing an odor in a space in the direction in which the user is present has been disclosed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for guiding a user or increasing a user's purchasing motivation by distributing an odor linked to the reproduced content of a video or music reproduced by an audiovisual system in a space. Further, in Patent Document 2, an odor generator is arranged near the entrance of a food store or around a sales floor by atomizing odor components such as a solution containing a fragrance similar to the odor of food into fine particles and diffusing them into the space. The technology that enables unmanned sales promotion activities is disclosed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-169234 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-24427

However, in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, only artificial odors are generated. Suitable sales promotion activities may not be possible with artificial odors alone.

An object to be solved by the present invention is to provide an odor emitting system, an odor emitting machine, an odor emitting method, and a program capable of performing suitable sales promotion activities.

The odor emission system of the embodiment is an odor emission system that emits an odor in a store, and has a determination unit for determining the degree of generation of a first odor related to a predetermined product or service, and the generation of the first odor. Depending on the condition, the second odor related to the predetermined product or service is provided with a discharge unit that emits a second odor that supplements the first odor.

When the odor emitting device of the present invention is used, a suitable sales promotion activity using a predetermined odor can be performed by releasing a predetermined odor based on the information collected by the collecting unit.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the appearance of the store 1 which concerns on this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the odor emission system 10 which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the odor discharger 100 which concerns on this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of the odor emitting machine 100 which concerns on this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the odor diffusion processing by the odor discharger 100 which concerns on this embodiment.

Hereinafter, the odor emitting system, the odor emitting machine, the odor emitting method, and the program of the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Further, it is assumed that the odor emitting machine of the embodiment is installed in a store in a location where passersby come and go near the store, such as a store in a shopping mall, a food store facing a sidewalk, or a store providing services such as cleaning. are doing. In the following description, an example of installing in a bakery having a kitchen in the store and an example of installing in a cleaning shop in which a laundry facility is installed in the store will be described.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the appearance of the store 1 according to the present embodiment. The odor emitting machine 100 is attached to the store 1. The odor emitting machine 100 emits an odor generated from the store 1. Here, the odor is an odor related to a predetermined product or service. An example of odor is the odor of food (including cooking, cooking, beverages, and ingredients), detergents, buildings, furniture, building materials, etc., which leads to goods or services. For example, when the store 1 is a bakery, it smells of bread.

The odor emitting machine 100 determines the degree of generation of the first odor. The first odor is, for example, an odor generated by a predetermined product or service. For example, the first odor is the odor when bread is actually baked. Specifically, the first odor is an odor generated when the bread dough is being baked, or an odor generated when freshly baked bread is generated. The degree of generation is, for example, the intensity of the odor measured by an odor sensor. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be a movable state (moving time, heating intensity, amount of detergent, etc.) of an external device that causes an odor, such as a cooking device or a washing facility, or an odor. The strength of may be associated with the movable state in advance.

The odor emitting machine 100 emits a second odor that supplements the first odor, which is a second odor related to a predetermined product or service, depending on the first odor generation condition. The second odor is the same as or substantially the same as the first odor. The substantially same odor is, for example, one that a person recognizes as the odor of the same product. For example, in the case of bread, the first odor is the odor when the bread is actually baked, and the second odor is what general consumers recognize as the odor of bread. For example, the odor emitter 100 increases the emission of the second odor when the first odor is weak. On the other hand, the odor emitter 100 reduces the emission of the second odor or stops the emission of the second odor when the first odor is strong.

As described above, the odor emitting machine 100 generates an odor (second odor) that supplements the actual odor (first odor) with respect to the predetermined product or service. As a result, in store 1, while attracting customers with the odor actually generated in the store (first odor), when the odor is weak, the odor that supplements the odor (second odor) is generated to attract customers. can do.

The ventilator 190 of the odor emitting device 100 may be attached to a side with traffic (sidewalk side or aisle side) in the store 1. Further, the ventilator 190 may be attached to a lower part (vertically below) than the height of a person's face (for example, 2 m or less) on the wall surface of a store or the like. As a result, in the store 1, the odor can easily reach the vicinity of the human nose. In addition, the ventilator 190 may be provided with a cover that limits the strength of the emitted wind. This cover may tilt the direction of the wind downward. Further, this cover may diffuse the direction in which the odor is emitted in multiple directions. The fragrance device 150 and the ventilator 190 are examples of "emission units".

Further, the ventilator 190 attached to the lower part of the wall surface or the like may be only the ventilator 190 (also referred to as “ventilator 190-2”) that emits the second odor, or emits the first odor. It may be both a ventilator 190 (also referred to as "ventilator 190-1") and a ventilator 190-2. Substances vaporized by hot air, seasonings, etc. may be released from the ventilator 190-1. In the store 1, the ventilator 190-1 may be mounted above (a position where the blown wind does not hit a person, etc.), and the ventilator 190-2 may be mounted below the ventilator 190-1.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an odor emission system 10 according to the present embodiment.
The odor emission system 10 includes various sensor devices (odor sensor 110, camera 122, external device sensor 130, etc.), an odor emission device 100, and an information collection server 140. These electronic devices are connected via a network such as the Internet or directly between at least one device.

The odor sensor 110 collects the presence or absence of a predetermined odor or the intensity of the predetermined odor. The motion sensor 121 detects animals such as humans and pets. For example, the motion sensor 121 is an infrared camera and detects a person (passerby or the like) existing in the store 1. The camera 122 captures an image. For example, the camera 122 is installed so as to take an image of the outside of the store 1 and takes an image of a road or aisle with traffic. The external device sensor 130 is a sensor that senses the operating status of the external device. The information collection server 140 is a server that collects external information. The external information is, for example, weather forecast, traffic information (railway operation information), event information, etc., and these information may be information for each region.

The odor emitter 100 determines whether or not to emit the second odor, or the setting of the second odor emission condition or the generation operation, based on the information sensed by the various sensor devices. If the odor emitter 100 determines to emit a second odor, it emits a second odor. Further, the odor emitter 100 emits the second odor depending on the degree or setting of the release of the second odor.

Further, the odor emitting machine 100 determines whether or not to emit the second odor, or the setting of the second odor emission condition or the generation operation, based on the external information collected by the information collection server 140. May be good. For example, on a sunny day, the second odor may be weakened, and conversely, on a rainy day, the odor is difficult to diffuse, so a stronger second odor is emitted compared to a sunny day. May be good. Further, the odor emitting machine 100 is a strong second, as compared with the case where the event is not held when the event is held in the same area as the store 1 or when the store 1 is the path to the event venue. The odor may be emitted.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functions of the odor emitting machine 100 of the present embodiment. The odor emitting machine 100 of FIG. 3 includes, for example, a collecting unit 160, a determining unit 170, a control unit 180, a ventilator 190, and an fragrance device 150. The components of the determination unit 170 and the control unit 180 are realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program (software). In addition, some or all of these components are hardware (circuits) such as LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), etc. It may be realized by the part; including circuitry), or it may be realized by the cooperation of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory, or may be stored in a removable storage medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) or a CD-ROM for storage. The medium may be installed in the storage device by being attached to the drive device.

The collecting unit 160 collects information on a predetermined space. The information in the predetermined space is, for example, the number of people in the vicinity of the store per unit time. The collection unit 160 has a large number of traffic per unit time around the store, for example, based on the images of the motion sensor 121 that detects the traffic and the camera 122 that captures the traffic on the passage or sidewalk facing the store. Collect the sensor.

In addition, the collecting unit 160 collects the strength of a predetermined odor (smell of baking bread or odor of laundry detergent) floating around the store per unit time as information on the predetermined space. For example, an odor sensor 110 is installed near the entrance of the store or inside the store (for example, a ventilation port). The collecting unit 160 collects, for example, the intensity of a predetermined odor from the sensing results of these odor sensors 110. In general, the odor of freshly baked bread and the odor of laundry detergent are composed of a plurality of aromatic substances. Therefore, when the odor sensor 110 detects the intensity of a predetermined odor, all the aromatic substances constituting the predetermined odor may be detected, or one or more characteristic fragrance substances in the predetermined odor may be detected. May be the detection target. The collection unit 160 outputs the collection result to the determination unit 170.

The determination unit 170 determines whether or not to emit a predetermined odor by using the fragrance device 150 based on the collection result output from the collection unit 160. Further, the determination unit 170 determines the intensity of the odor emitted by using the fragrance device 150.

For example, when the collecting unit 160 collects a large number of people in a predetermined space, the determination unit 170 weakens the intensity of the emitted odor if the number of people is less than a certain number, and if the number is more than a certain number, the determination unit 170 weakens the strength of the emitted odor. , You may decide to increase the intensity of the emitted odor. However, in general, when the aroma component smells air having an appropriate concentration, even if the smell is perceived by many consumers as a good smell, it may be unpleasant if the aroma component is too dense. Therefore, the intensity of the emitted odor is determined based on, for example, the intensity of the odor floating in the store, and it is desirable to adjust the odor so as not to be excessively dense. The determination unit 170 outputs the determination result to the control unit 180.

The determination unit 170 may determine, for example, the intensity of the emitted odor based on time information. For example, the determination unit 170 determines that the fragrance device 150 is used to emit a predetermined odor during the business hours of the store, but if it is outside the business hours or just before the closing time, the fragrance device 150 is used. Decide not to emit the prescribed odor.

Further, when the fragrance device 150 described later can emit a plurality of types of odors, the determination unit 170 may determine the odor to be emitted from the plurality of odors based on the collection result of the collection unit 160. good.

The control unit 180 controls the ventilator 190 and the fragrance device 150 based on the determination result of the determination unit 170. The ventilator 190 is, for example, a ventilation device installed at a location facing a passage or a sidewalk of a store and discharging air inside the store to the outside of the store. The ventilator 190 may also serve as a ventilation device for the store. The ventilator 190 includes one or more ventilation fans. The ventilator 190 is an example of a "release device".

The fragrance device 150 is a device that generates an odor (second odor). In the fragrance device 150, for example, a substance for reproducing a predetermined odor stored inside the device (for example, a solution or a solid substance in which a fragrance for reproducing a predetermined odor is dissolved) is exposed to air to cause an odor component. Volatilizes and generates an aroma containing a predetermined odor component. The aroma generated by the fragrance device 150 is diffused into a predetermined space by the ventilator 190.

The fragrance device 150 may reproduce the generation of odor. For example, in the case of a bakery, the aroma device 150 may be a heating device. That is, the clerk puts the bread dough and bread in the heating device in advance. The fragrance device 150 may generate an odor by actually baking wheat or bread by heating bread dough or bread with a heating device. Further, in the case of a yakitori restaurant, a yakiniku restaurant, an eel restaurant, etc., the aroma device 150 may be composed of, for example, a supply device for dropping or spraying a liquid and a heating device. The fragrance device 150 heats the heating device and drops or sprays a liquid such as sauce on the heating device to heat the liquid and generate an odor.

The control unit 180 may constantly operate the ventilator 190 to diffuse a predetermined odor while the fragrance device 150 generates an aroma, or may diffuse some operation pattern (for example, diffuse for a few seconds and stop for a few seconds). The predetermined odor may be diffused by operating according to (repeating the above).

The collection unit 160 is in the operating status of an external device (for example, a cooking device such as an oven in a bakery shop, a washing facility or a press device in a cleaning shop) that is a source of odor (first odor). May be collected. For example, when the collecting unit 160 can communicate with the external device, the collecting unit 160 may receive the operating status of the external device each time, or may receive it at the timing when the operating status changes. Further, the collecting unit 160 acquires information indicating an operating state from, for example, an operating sensor attached to an external device. The operation sensor is a sensor that senses the operation status (start or end) of an external device. The operation sensor may, for example, sense the operating sound at the start / end of the external device, the temperature of the external device, and the display of the display unit provided in the external device. Further, the collecting unit 160 may estimate the operating state according to the time if the external device operates periodically.

For example, when the external device is in operation, the collecting unit 160 does not have to collect the intensity of the predetermined odor because it is assumed that the predetermined odor has already been generated. When an external device is in operation, for example, in a bakery, the oven is ignited and cooking is in progress, and in a laundry shop, washing is performed by a washing device or a press. It is a state in which ironing is performed by the device.
Further, when the external device is in operation, the determination unit 170 may determine not to emit a predetermined odor by using the fragrance device 150.

However, even if the external device is in operation, if the predetermined odor is not generated or if the predetermined odor floating in the space is thin, the collecting unit 160 collects the intensity of the predetermined odor. Based on the results, the fragrance device 150 may be used to complement to a particular odor intensity.

Further, the fragrance device 150 may be an external device itself that is a source of odor. In that case, the fragrance device 150 controls the external device based on the control command output from the control unit 180. The control of the external device is, for example, to change the oven from the fire extinguishing state to the igniting state in the case of a bakery. Further, the control unit 180 may notify the installer of the odor emitting machine 100 by an alarm or the like so as to change the oven from the fire extinguishing state to the ignition state.

Further, the fragrance device 150 may be a device that imitates an external device that is a source of odor. The device imitating an external device is, for example, an oven for baking bread (samples, free samples, etc.) that is not intended to be used as a commercial product in a bakery. Further, the device imitating an external device may be, for example, a device that stirs only water containing a detergent containing no clothing, if it is a laundry shop.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the odor emitting machine 100. The odor emitter 100 includes, for example, two ventilators 190-1 and 190-2. The ventilator 190-1 discharges the air inside the store to the outside of the store and acts as a ventilation fan. The ventilator 190-2 is connected to the aroma device 150 and diffuses the aroma emitted by the aroma device 150 to the outside of the store.

In the odor emitting machine 100 shown in FIG. 4, for example, when the determination unit 170 determines that the external device is in operation and the odor emission by the fragrance device 150 is unnecessary, the ventilator 190-1 is operated. , The ventilator 190-2 is not operated. Further, the odor emitter 100 operates the ventilator 190-2 when, for example, the determination unit 170 determines that the fragrance device 150 emits the odor because the external device is not in operation. At this time, the ventilator 190-1 may or may not be operated.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the odor diffusion process by the odor emitter 100. The flowchart shown in FIG. 5 may be repeatedly executed at a predetermined timing.

First, the collecting unit 160 collects information in a predetermined space (step S100). Next, the determination unit 170 determines whether or not to emit a predetermined odor (step S102). If the determination unit 170 determines that the odor is to be released, the determination unit 170 determines the intensity of the odor to be released (step S104). If the determination unit 170 does not determine that it will be released, the process returns to step S100.

After the process of step S102, the control unit 180 controls the ventilator 190 and the fragrance device 150 based on the determination result of the determination unit 170 to diffuse the predetermined odor (step S106). As a result, the processing of this flowchart ends.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the example of being installed in a store having a kitchen or a laundry facility, which is a source of a predetermined odor in the store, has been described. The odor emitting machine 100 may be installed in a retail store or an agency that does not have the odor emitting machine 100.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the odor emitting machine 100 detects that there is a lot of traffic and predicts the time when the traffic will increase, or a predetermined time (time when the traffic is always high). ) May emit a second odor. Further, the odor emitting machine 100 may start the operation of generating the second odor based on the time when the second odor should be generated. For example, when the odor emitting machine 100 heats bread dough or bread as a second odor, the odor emitting machine 100 stores in advance a set time (for example, 10 minutes) in which the odor is often generated from the start of heating. The odor emitter 100 may start heating for generating the second odor by advancing the set time from the time when the second odor should be generated (for example, the time when the number of people passing by increases). ..

The degree of odor generation may be the intensity of the odor output by the odor sensor, the amount of a specific odor component (chemical substance, etc.), or the value associated with these intensity or amount. There may be. The odor emitter 100 generates a second odor so that, for example, the degree of odor generation due to the first odor and the second odor becomes a predetermined target value. For example, the odor emitter 100 associates a first odor generation condition with a setting of a second odor generation condition or a second odor generation operation that can be set to a target value commensurate with the generation condition. It may be stored in advance. For example, the odor emitter 100 generates a second odor according to the detected first odor generation condition, based on the setting of the second odor generation operation corresponding to the generation condition. The setting of the generation operation is, for example, the operation of the ventilator 190 (the operation of controlling the wind speed, the wind direction, the period of intermittent ventilation, etc.), the operation of the fragrance device 150 (adjustment of the contact condition between the substance and the air (opening / closing of the container, etc.)). , Operation to control ventilation, heating, droplets, spraying, etc.) may be set. For example, when the bread dough or bread is heated to generate a second odor, the setting of the generation operation may be the setting of the heating time, the heating intensity, the amount of liquid to be dropped or sprayed, and the like.

The odor emitting machine 100 may change a target value or the like (target value, second odor emission condition, or setting of generation operation) based on information in a predetermined space or external information. For example, the odor emitting machine 100 may set a higher target value or the like when there is a lot of traffic, as compared with the case where there is little traffic, and may emit a stronger odor. Further, the odor emitting machine 100 may lower the target value or the like on a sunny day to emit a weaker odor. On the contrary, since the odor emitting machine 100 does not easily diffuse the odor on a rainy day or the like, a higher target value or the like may be set as compared with a sunny day to emit a stronger odor. Further, the odor emitting machine 100 sets a higher target value or the like when the event is held in the same area as the store 1 or when the store 1 is the path to the event venue, as compared with the case where the event is not held. It may be set to emit a stronger odor.

Further, the odor emitting machine 100 may acquire attribute information of a person who has already passed, a person who is currently passing, or a person who will pass from now on from the image captured by the camera. The attribute information is, for example, gender, age, and the like. The odor emitting machine 100 may set or change a target value or the like based on the attribute information. For example, when the attribute information satisfies a predetermined condition, the odor emitting machine 100 may set a high target value or the like to emit a stronger odor. Here, the predetermined condition is, for example, a condition that the purchase layer of the store 1 and a person who contributes to the purchase are matched. For example, in the case of a bakery, the odor emitting machine 100 may set a high target value or the like when the attribute information is for women in their 20s to 40s, and for children whose attribute information is about 4 to 15 years old. In some cases, a high target value or the like may be set. Further, the odor emitting machine 100 does not have to set a target value or the like, and may decide to emit a second odor when the attribute information satisfies a predetermined condition.

As described above, according to the odor emitting machine 100 of the embodiment, the determination unit 170 has a predetermined odor based on the information of the traffic and the intensity of the predetermined odor in the predetermined space collected by the collection unit 160. The odor is suitable by determining whether or not to emit the odor, determining the intensity of the predetermined odor to be emitted, and controlling the ventilator 190 and the fragrance device 150 by the control unit 180 to diffuse the predetermined odor. Can carry out various sales promotion activities.

According to at least one embodiment described above, the collecting unit collects information on a predetermined space, and based on the collected information, the determining unit determines the intensity of the odor emitted by the fragrance device and ventilates the air. By releasing it using a container, it is possible to carry out sales promotion activities with a suitable odor.

Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other embodiments, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and variations thereof are included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof, as are included in the scope and gist of the invention. However, the release system of the present invention can be preferably used for foods such as bakeries or services related to foods from the viewpoint of suitable sales promotion activities by odor.

1 ... store, 10 ... odor emitting system, 100 ... odor emitting machine, 110 ... odor sensor, 121 ... human sensor, 122 ... camera, 130 ... external device sensor, 140 ... information collection server, 150 ... fragrance device, 160 ... Collection unit, 170 ... decision unit, 180 ... control unit, 190 ... ventilator

Claims (14)

An odor emission system that emits odors in stores.
With regard to the space around the store, a collection unit that collects information indicating the first odor of a predetermined product or service floating in the space and the number of people passing by.
A determination unit that determines the degree of generation of the first odor and determines the intensity of releasing the odor based on the information indicating the number of people passing by .
The strength of the second odor that supplements the first odor, which is the second odor related to the predetermined product or service, is adjusted based on the degree of generation of the first odor and the intensity of the first odor. The release part that emits the second odor,
Equipped with
The release unit adjusts and releases the second odor so that the strength of the second odor becomes stronger when there is more traffic than when there is less traffic.
Smell emission system. The release unit adjusts and releases the second odor so that the strength of the second odor is weaker than that in the case where there is a lot of traffic.
The odor emitting system according to claim 1. An odor emission system that emits odors in stores.
With regard to the space around the store, a collection unit that collects the first odor of a predetermined product or service floating in the space and the attributes of people who are or will be passing by.
A determination unit that determines the degree of generation of the first odor and determines the strength at which the odor is emitted based on the attributes of the person .
The strength of the second odor that supplements the first odor, which is the second odor related to the predetermined product or service, is adjusted based on the degree of generation of the first odor and the intensity of the first odor. The release part that emits the second odor,
Smell emission system equipped with. The attribute of the person is gender,
The odor emitting system according to claim 3. The attribute of the person is age,
The odor emitting system according to claim 3 or 4. The collection department collects weather information and
The determination unit determines the intensity of emitting an odor based on the weather information.
The release system according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The collection unit collects event information in the area around the store and collects event information.
The determination unit determines the intensity at which the odor is emitted based on the event information.
The release system according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The collection department collects transportation operation information and
The determination unit determines the intensity at which the odor is emitted based on the operation information.
The release system according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The collection department collects information for each region and
The determination unit determines the intensity at which the odor is emitted based on the information for each region.
The release system according to any one of claims 1 to 8. The emitting unit has related information in which the first odor generation condition and the setting of the second odor generation operation according to the first odor generation condition and the target value are associated with each other. The strength of the second odor is adjusted and released by performing the operation of generating the second odor based on the degree of generation of the odor 1 and the target value according to the intensity.
The release system according to any one of claims 1 to 9. A second regarding the predetermined product or service based on the information indicating the degree of generation of the first odor of the predetermined product or service floating in the space and the amount of traffic in the space around the store. The strength of the second odor that supplements the first odor is adjusted to release the second odor.
The second odor is adjusted and released so that the strength of the second odor becomes stronger when there is a lot of traffic than when there is less traffic.
Smell release method. The second regarding the predetermined product or service based on the information indicating the degree of generation of the first odor of the predetermined product or service floating in the space and the amount of traffic in the space around the store on the computer. A procedure for adjusting the strength of a second odor that supplements the first odor to release the second odor.
To execute,
The second odor is adjusted and released so that the strength of the second odor becomes stronger when there is a lot of traffic than when there is less traffic.
program. The computer has a second odor regarding the predetermined product or service in the space around the store, based on the occurrence of the first odor of the predetermined product or service floating in the space and the attributes of the person who is or will be passing by. The strength of the second odor that supplements the first odor is adjusted to release the second odor.
Smell release method. Regarding the space around the store, the second odor related to the predetermined product or service floating in the space is generated on the computer, and the second odor related to the predetermined product or service is based on the attributes of the person who is or will be passing by. A procedure for adjusting the strength of a second odor that supplements the first odor to release the second odor.
A program to execute.

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